Nice looking pies Mark! How did you get bromated flour in CA? My friend is here this week from SACTO and he is talking of financing my pizzeria in Sonoma County when we move back there(eating some of his backyard oranges as I type ). I thought bromated flour was illegal to purchase in CA? Walter

You can get All Trumps flour un-bromated by requesting product code #50143. This one is malted and enriched only.Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

Tom: I am not sure you are replying to my question or not. I use bromated all trumps (live in OH) and plan on retiring to CA and opening a small pizzeria in the future. I would want to continue using bromated all trumps but was of the understanding you can't buy bromated in CA. Walter

Walter, I bought a 5 lb re-bag from a bulk seller on the internet. Came from out of state, I did see large bags that you can buy but shipping is a killer, as it was the shipping was more than 3x the flour cost. But I wanted to try it. Glad I did.

Walter;The bromated flours are not illegal in California, but they are so frowned upon that you might have a problem finding a supplier that carries it, hence the reference to the non-bromated version of All Trumps. The bromate has essentially no impact upon the flour when it comes to making pizza, so you shouldn't see and difference between bromated or non-bromated All Trumps except for availability.Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

Walter;The bromated flours are not illegal in California, but they are so frowned upon that you might have a problem finding a supplier that carries it, hence the reference to the non-bromated version of All Trumps. The bromate has essentially no impact upon the flour when it comes to making pizza, so you shouldn't see and difference between bromated or non-bromated All Trumps except for availability.Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

Thanks Tom- I have hope! I am not a science based baker but my gut tells me, as Scott posted, the bromated does make a difference. I will have to buy a bag of non bromated all trumps and do a side by side comparision. This reminds me of a time about 25 years ago when my wife and I were passing through Palm Springs CA. I was talking with the doorman at one of the hotels and he was also from NJ. I asked him if there were any good pies around. He said Sinatra brought out one his favorite pizza guys from NJ and he even had his water trucked in. I tried the pie and it was the real deal. Walter

Thanks Tom- I have hope! I am not a science based baker but my gut tells me, as Scott posted, the bromated does make a difference. I will have to buy a bag of non bromated all trumps and do a side by side comparision. This reminds me of a time about 25 years ago when my wife and I were passing through Palm Springs CA. I was talking with the doorman at one of the hotels and he was also from NJ. I asked him if there were any good pies around. He said Sinatra brought out one his favorite pizza guys from NJ and he even had his water trucked in. I tried the pie and it was the real deal. Walter

He did and he also had Calandra's bread flown in everyday. My grandparents house was next to the bakery and as I kid I would look forward to our every Sunday afternoon visits. My grandfather would have his home brewed choke cherry brandy/red wine, meats, grandma's homemade pastas, cheeses, and pasteries. I would get my fill of their food and then wander over to the bakery and watch the bread being made. those old timer bakers in their white shirts and pants would give me a hunk of warm bread. Their Semolina was my favorite. walter

He did and he also had Calandra's bread flown in everyday. My grandparents house was next to the bakery and as I kid I would look forward to our every Sunday afternoon visits. My grandfather would have his home brewed choke cherry brandy/red wine, meats, grandma's homemade pastas, cheeses, and pasteries. I would get my fill of their food and then wander over to the bakery and watch the bread being made. those old timer bakers in their white shirts and pants would give me a hunk of warm bread. Their Semolina was my favorite. walter

I try not to speak in any authoritative way about things that I have had little or no personal experience with, apart from giving attribution as might be appropriate or pointing people in certain directions where they might find answers to their questions. This includes bromated flour. However, apart from the effects of bromated flour on mixing and other perceived benefits that our members have spoken about from time to time, one aspect that is not often noted or spoken about is that a bromated flour supposedly strengthens a dough and prevents it from falling too much when handled between proofing and baking, yielding a higher volume crumb as a result. This is rarely a need for a NY style dough but one place where that effect can be quite useful is for a Sicilian style dough. It was that effect that prompted me to probe Buddy's on whether the flour that it used for its Detroit-style pizza was bromated. The answer was yes.

I will be interested in Walter's results if he is able to do a side-by-side test using the bromated All Trumps versus the unbromated All Trumps for his NY style. The part that would most interest me is if he notes taste and textural differences that, for him, convince him of the superiority of one flour over the other.

Peter, I respect your contributions to this forum. As I used the bromated flour I had no regard for pizza type. I do understand that certain flours are used for certain pizza styles. I recently saw a reference to a pizza style called " American Hand Tossed Pizza". I think that I may fit that style, although I have not seen a definition.